Far too trendy for me though. Have you looked at Bryony (breye-uh-nee)? I think it's perfect for what you want. You've got the 'rye' sound like Ryan, it's not overly trendy, it's six letters and it's a girl's name!

Completely agree with this. If you like Bryony, I think that's a much nicer way to honour Ryan than Ryland/Rilynn/Rylinn etc. Or you could use plain old Ryan as a middle name, which would work for a girl. EvenRyan as a first name could work for a girl if the name is meaningful to you and it's paired with a feminine middle.

Ryland is in the top 400 or 500ish as a boys name. I've met little boy Rylands and it just seems so maculine to me. With Archer around the same place on the charts as Ryland it just feels odd to me.

If this bothers you, I just want to gently point out that Rylan ranked at #179 for boys in 2012. There were three times as many little boy Rylans (2158) born as there were little boy Archers (714). I'm a Southerner too, and the two Rylans I've met both pronounce the name just like "RY-lyn." Your daughter Rylann (or however you choose to spell it) has a much better chance of sharing her name with her male peers than your son ever will.

I don't have any suggestions for you. In your shoes, I would use Ryan as a middle name; I would like the direct, unaltered, undiluted connection to my brother's name, and...well, I've always liked masculine names like Ryan, Brett, and Drew as middle names for long, formal, feminine names like Elizabeth, Beatrice, or Cordelia. It would work for me. Naturally, you'll have to do what works for you. I hope you find the perfect name, one that strikes the right balance between appealing to your tastes and satisfying your need to honor your brother.

Rhiannon?

Do you like Rhiannon at all? I know it doesn't have 6 letters, but I think it's fairly evocative of Ryan in sound & appearance, and it has the same meaning (queen/king). And it is clearly a girl's name, if you are at all concerned about that. I also like one of the other posters' suggestion of Riley or Reilly!

That being said, I agree with everyone that you should choose whatever you like best and whatever you think is the best tribute to your brother Ryan. I like Rylan a lot, though I have seen quite a few boy babies named that lately. I like Rylinn and Rilynn equally, but I would pronounce them both as RY-lin. Not sure if you wanted a ry-LYNN sound or not? The thing is, at least to me, Rylinn, Rilynn, Rylan, and even Ryland are all going to sound pretty much the same when spoken. Rylinn & Rilynn are both clearly "girly" when written, whereas the other 2 look more unisex. Just food for thought; I don't think of anything I brought up as a problem or reason not to use the name!